UK Toys ‘R’ Us Ends Gender Segregation

UK-based campaign Let Toys Be Toys announced last Friday that after meeting with UK Toys ‘R’ Us, the retailer had committed to end the practice of labelling toys as being either for ‘girls’ or for ‘boys’. This is HUGE news.

New standards for in-store signage will be introduced at UK Toys ‘R’ Us stores — and images will show both girls and boys enjoying the same toys. This comes out of dialogue last Friday between the grassroots parent-led campaign and board members of the UK subsidiary of the toy giant. They pledged to start with the Christmas toy catalogue.

As Megan Perryman of Let Toys Be Toysstates in a press release: “Even in 2013, boys and girls are still growing up being told that certain toys are ‘for’ them, while others are not. This is not only confusing but extremely limiting, as it strongly shapes their ideas about who they are and who they can go on to become.”

That FAQ section also points out that the segregation of toys along gender lines is something that’s only taken hold in the past few decades. Many mothers looking for Meccano or Lego sets of their youth were alarmed to find them shelved as ‘boys’ toys. I certainly remember far less gender segregation when my younger brother and sister were preschoolers — and things were even a little less gendered when I was buying toys for my daughter just 15 years ago.